I’ve written the “Copywriters Roundtable” ezine for many years. I’ve worked with many others who write ezines. And I’ve received ezines galore. What have I learned that’s worth sharing with you?

A lot, I hope.

But there a few things leaped immediately to mind when I first sat down and thought about it. And since it’s pretty tough these days to find anyone who doesn’t write a blog or an ezine, I figured you might like if shared those ideas with you.

Ready? Here we go…

1) Always remember that your reader is much smarter than you think. Even while educating or informing, never talk down. And never think the readers won’t notice when you haven’t done your homework.

2) Your readers prefer stories to lists of facts. “Everyone likes a story,” said novelist E.M. Forster. We’ve seen this elsewhere in this course, too. You’ll find it a lot easier to hold onto human interest by putting plenty of human interest angles into the articles you’ll write (e.g. marketer Joe Vitale recently ran an article, “How Mark Twain Would Write Online.” He could have just listed points. But instead, he gave his lesson a face we could all identify with.)

3) Your reader respects – and expects – conviction. This point can’t be emphasized enough. The email relationship demands you to take a position. Readers don’t want more information. They can get that anywhere. Instead, they want someone to make a judgment about information so they can know what’s essential and what is not.

4) Your reader expects profundity. Remember what we said about the value of complexity. The deeper you can take your reader, the more you can expand his mind, the greater your editor-reader relationship will be, the more he’ll recommend your ezine to friends (right?). And the longer he’ll stay active on your mailing list (yes?).

5) Trust encourages action. Relationships like the ones we’ve been talking about are built on trust. Earlier in this course we talked about the value of “authenticity.” This is one of those places where it comes into play. The more the reader trusts you, the more genuinely he regards your message, and the more likely he is to take the action you recommend. Including acting on the offers in the promos you attach to the ezine (only if you want to of course… and you DO want to, don’t you?)

7) Your reader expects emotion. Getting personal means getting emotional. But be careful in two ways. First realize that even zealots can only go so far. Be passionate about your position, but not crazed. Second, good writers express the full range of emotions over time (fear, greed, anger, desire, vanity, etc.) You can’t fake this. But don’t suppress it in your ezine copy either.

8) Give both need-to-know AND want-to-know information. No question, the most valuable ezines educate readers. But remember your ezine subscribers will want to be entertained as much as they’ll want to be informed. Think of it like the difference between the college professor who bores listeners at a cocktail party… and the master storyteller who builds a circle of guests around him, all leaning in to hear more.

9) Reinforce the old, introduce the new. When you’re writing an ezine, it’s true you’re almost always “preaching to the choir.” Which means a lot of your ezine copy will appeal to the suspicions, opinions, and principles you and your readers already share. But just as much, you have to make sure you introduce, amplify, and illuminate a new direction for your readers to take.

This last rule is especially important.

By repeating core ideas, you reinforce your reader’s good feelings about your ezine. By saying something new, however, you also provide understanding. And for that your reader will be eternally (one hopes) grateful.

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